1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the area of novel compounds and salts thereof, their syntheses, and their use as anti-cancer agents.
2. Related Art
The cell cycle is a normal, highly regulated ordered set of events that culminates in cell growth and division. The cell cycle progresses through a protein synthetic phase (G1), a DNA synthetic phase (S) and a mitotic stage (G2/M). Deregulation of the cell cycle by altering key enzymatic and genetic steps can lead to unchecked cell growth and proliferation leading to cancer development.
Blocking the cell cycle with pharmacological inhibitors of key molecular targets that drive the cell cycle through mitosis is a strategy for inhibiting unchecked tumor proliferation. Such inhibitors would be effective anti-cancer agents by slowing or halting tumor growth and proliferation.
There are a number of anti-cancer agents in various stages of clinical development that block cell cycle progression at the G1, S and the G2/M phase. Compounds that block at G2/M include the anti-mitotic natural product 13-hydroxy-15-oxozoapatlin, the phosphatase inhibitors okadeic acid and sodium orthovanadate and the DNA intercalating agents imidazoacridinones. Other G2/M blocking agents have unidentified molecular targets. Such agents include polyphenol resveratrol, thymoquinone and quinoxaline 1,4-dioxides. A need continues to exist for potent, small molecules that block cell cycle progression.